Hey guys, i've got a stock 97 TA, automatic with the lt1 350. i've got a $1000-1500 mod budget, what mods would be the best for my money???

i've got a flowmaster 40 series muffler, other than that, its stock. The flowmaster setup isn't quite giving me the aggressive sound i wanted...any suggestions on that too?

friends have suggested headers, cams, and computer tuning. is adding a ram-air unit worth it?

 

On my 95 i did a cold air, headers, flowmaster 3 inch, and the comp 305 cam with new springs and i ran 13.2 at 106 untuned on street tires.

 

go with long tube headers and a full cat back, deleting the cats in the process and get a computer tune...that'll give you a nice gain for the money you have to spend

 

You might have enough to run a full exhaust and maybe fit a mail-order PCM tune in there as well. Do you have emissions regulations in your area? If you do, I would go with mid-length headers and a good catback. If you do not have emissions, then I would go with long tubes, an off-road y-pipe, and a good catback. Also, if you check out the classifieds, you may be able to get some good deals on used parts and also our boards Supporting Vendors run specials all the time. If you shop around a little bit, you can stretch your money further.

 

Used parts are definately the way to go further. Most of my sig. is used parts. Matter of fact, minus the New rear rims and tires, the entire rest of my sig is under $1500 and that is with the new ceramic coated pacesetters($390 shipped) everything else is used.

 

I just got a 93 Formula, and were gonna get LT's for $285 shipped from summit. Also getting some 1.6rr and a cc306 and a stall. I believe that is a great starting point for this car.

 

your not going to get a cam and supporting mods for your $1500, so i would say leave it for later. First off, find out what gears you have, you can do this by checking out your rpo codes on the door, or glove box. if you find a gu2 you would have 2.73, a gu5 3.23 (i think those are the numbers) If you have the 2.73's i would get some different gears, 3.42's 3.73's or 4.10's depending on what your doing for driving. This will make a huge difference.


If gears arent your cup o tea, Headers, and a cat back. Longtubes, or mids will do fine, a decent cat back, hooker or mangnaflow. A cold air intake would also be good, although some guy in another post said it was a waste of money, (never heard that before)

#1 thing is to make love to this forum, read, search and search some more. Youll learn a lot in a short amount of time.

 

i'd say suspension and intake/exhaust work.

start with making your own LCA/PHR and adding on some subframes ... 350-450 depending on parts
second get a cheap used CAI and a 52mm throttle body off ebay or used form the forum ... 100 for CAI and 150 for TB
third, headers. i have pacesetter mids and love them. if i had to do it agian i'd go with edelbrock's TES header/y-pipe combo and add a dynomax exhaust for about 500 total. add a new cat if needed for another 70 bucks. ... headers 200-400 and catback is 200

spend the rest on good shocks or sway bars.

 

Why waste the 150 on a used throttle body? It wont get you much if anything on a stock, mild bolt on car. Dyno tests have shown this.

You really need to just start out with what your wanting out of the car? quarter mile times? corner carver? dyno chart?

 

exhaust...upgrade ur exhaust first.... new coated longtubes with used true duals....im gettin all this for less then $600 also a cold air intake....then gears if u have 2.73's and some nice drag radials for ur salad shooters.....

and deffinetly defffffffinetly rape the **** out of this forum.....everything i have ever learned has been on here....im on daily.... there is always somethin new to learn..... o yea btw dont be afraid to ask stupid questions....if u dont kno it...ask....i still ask pretty dumb questions....the guys on here r awesome and remember they were all new at this one time or another and remember they all love camaros just as much as u....

 

Chances are he doesnt have salid shooter to run drag raidlas on since he has a Trans am. If you have a spare set of wheels, run some drag radials, but youll be taking a risk of blowing out your 10 bolt prematurly which would be quite a bit of money to replace and if you already spent all your mod money on mods, you wont have any left. Depending on your life, you may be without a car for a while. Second he probably isnt going to want to run true duals dumped, because he has a Trans am. (rear cutouts in bumper for exhaust tips, missing the exhaust tips looks ****ing gay.) Probably not wanting to spend a huge chunk of his money having the duals ran out the back either.

Also, before asking lots of stupid questions, use the search button, located near the top of the page.


EDIT: And if your still wondering about the ram air system. Dont waste your time unless you just want the looks of the hood.

$600+ hood
$200 air box
$200+ for a decent paint job
__________
$1000+ for ram air

$150-200 Cold air intake; same or better performance.

 

i noticed substantial gains with full bolt on goodies and then running the TB. and it added plenty of HP after the 383. i sent my motor off to be worked over with a stock unit and it came back with the stocker...put on the 52mm and woa....***** to the wall.

it's only a few bucks and it will help if he has every bolt on available. but, if you decide not to go with the TB get some used 1.6 rockers and some good springs for the valvetrain...that's another area that's looked over that will offer plenty of power gains for the few bucks.

 

Hold your horses buddy. Hes got a stock car, with a ****master muffler. That doesnt qualify as every bolt on possible nor is $1500 going to get him anywhere close to a full bolt on car. This guy is going to be running a very mild bolt on Trans am. Full exhaust and cold air intake, if he spends his money right. Not a 383 stroker. Be serious. Would a throttle body be your first mod if you only had $1500 to spend on a completly stock car Might as well upgrade the fuel pump, 50lb injetors, port the intake and stuff a moser under there. Yes all of these things would be great for a blown stroker, but he's not there yet. One step at a time now.

 

ok guys, so general consensus is long tube headers, and cold air intake for starters....everyone agree?

am i going to have to ditch my cat to do headers? (i'd like to, but not if its going to mean deleting an O2 sensor and messing up my computer)

also, the flowmaster 40 series muffler i'm running doesnt quite give me the sound i want. what are some suggestions for a good muffler to go with? i get passed all the time by other LT1's and all i hear is this kickass rumble. I WANT that!!!

 

If you go with long tube headers, you will need an off-road y-pipe which is designed differently from your stock y-pipe. Therefore, it will not have cats. You can always have aftermarket cats welded in there like I did, but it will tally on more money and it can be difficult due to limited space. I went with the Magnaflow catback along with an exhaust cutout and I am very happy with the sound now. What I like about the Magnaflow is that it is all stainless and it is very affordable. It is a little tame, but it gets lots of complements from others. Some other very good catbacks are the Hooker and if you have the money, Borla or GMMG.